Writers write in a variety of voices, particularly if they write for several different magazines/blogs/clients/genres/whatever and are professional writers or authors.

However, once you find your writing voice, sometimes it’s easy to get stuck there. This makes it harder to adopt different voices for different venues.

You can still sound like you but still adopt varying tones. For example, something written in a novel will be quite different than something on a sales page even if you still use similar words and phrasings. If you can’t do this, then you won’t be as successful of a writer.

Professional and aspiring writers alike both have to be able to write in several different styles to be successful. A writing rut hampers success and impedes progress.

So, how do you get out of a writing rut?

5 Easy Ways to Get Out of a Writing Rut

I’ve fallen into writing ruts several times over my seven-year career as a freelance writer, and I’ve found these tips to be helpful in shaking things up and getting out of a writing rut:

Read More

You knew I was going to say this one, didn’t you? It seems to be my answer for everything. But it is so important. If you feel like your writing is rutted and blah, read something inspirational. I like to read something like The New York Times or The Guardian if I want inspiration for journalism-style writing. If I need more blog inspiration, I’ll read something like Momastery. For writing inspiration, you absolutely cannot go wrong with a classic book like Les Miserables or any of these books that leave a lasting impression.

Try a Writing Exercise

I don’t do this often anymore, but when I first started out, I did a lot of writing exercises. Writing exercises give you a challenge to complete and have you write something specifically on-task. I like to imagine the exercises as if they were pitches for publication in a magazine that I really want to get into.

Take a Break

We all have those days when we know the day is a writing bust from the moment we wake up (or maybe don’t wake up). If you don’t have any looming deadlines, go ahead and take the day off. Do something completely different, like exercise or go for a walk in the sunshine.

Make a Deadline

Too many break days are unnecessary and harmful. At some point, you have to buckle down and do the writing whether you feel like you are in a rut or not. I have a whole list of strategies you can try to motivate yourself when you just don’t feel well or feel like working at all. Push through and be awesome!

Write, Rewrite, and Rewrite Again

It may be possible that you’re in a writing rut because your writing isn’t good. “Good” of course, is highly subjective, but if you aren’t happy with it, regardless of if another person is, it isn’t good writing.

What is the best way to improve your writing? By writing and rewriting. Make a draft and edit like crazy. Eliminate anything that can be eliminated, then consider adding some back in or perhaps adding something else in instead. Try things out and don’t be afraid of the delete button.

What I like to do is save each draft that I create and come back a day, week, or month later (depending on the scope/timeframe of the project) and pick the best parts of each draft to use as the final draft.

It’s also encouraging to see how the idea changed from the start and morphed into the final project. Plus, if you write a famous book, those half-finished drafts will be worth something some day.

Take a Writing Course

A lot of people stop learning once they graduate college, which is silly. There is always more to learn. There are hundreds of resources you can use to learn a new writing style, and many of them are completely free.

You Don’t Have to Stay in a Writing Rut

Above all, writing should be fun, informative, and entertaining. If you are in a writing rut, you cannot reach your full creative potential. If you feel burned out by writing, you don’t have to stay in your writing rut. Use these tips to pull out of it and get back where you want to be.

3 Simple Ways to Overcome Lack of Motivation

Pare the To-Do List

I always have way more on my to-do list than I can get through in a day. I always have two lists: my “must-do” list and my “hope-to-do” list.

Even on my “must-do” list there is some wiggle room. When I am feeling bad, I pare down my list to the very bare-bones list. If I have a lot of deadlines coming up and I know I can’t get through them because I am sick, I will ask for a deadline extension. I’ve never had any client ever say that I couldn’t get an extension for a few days.

Find a Way to Perk Up

Sometimes, you are too sick to move or leave the bathroom. In these cases, nothing is likely to perk you up. But for lesser illnesses, there are things you can do to perk up a bit and push through to get the essential work done. I use the following tricks to perk up when I want to overcome lack of motivation:

Go outside: I am a firm believer in sunshine as a health cure. It might be extra vitamin D boosting my immune system or it might be the placebo effect, but when I go outside in the sunshine for a few minutes, I usually start to feel better. This can often give me the necessary pep and motivation to get my essential jobs done.

Drink coffee or tea: When I am sick, I find hot coffee and tea soothing (tea more than coffee). Hot tea feels like it can ease headaches, body aches, sore throats, congestion, and other minor health issues. Coffee has an extra boost of caffeine that can supply energy that is waning from illness. Even on regular days I often depend on coffee to overcome lack of motivation.

Dress up: When I am sick and wearing pajamas all day, I feel like I should be lounging around all day binge watching HGTV. While this is good for my body (I think), it isn’t good for pushing through my to-do list. I find that when I dress up, put on some makeup and brush my hair, I feel a little better and find it easier to knock out that essential to-do list.

Remove Distractions

Distractions will keep me from working any day, but distractions seem particularly powerful if I am feeling bad. This week, I had my husband take the children out one evening so I could finish up my essential work before collapsing in bed.

Push Through

Sometimes, there are no tricks to it. If you have to get a job done, sometimes you just have to suck it up, act like an adult, and get the job done no matter how crappy you feel. It is easier to relax and focus on getting better when you don’t feel guilty about missing a deadline or having to skip a project.

Overcome Lack of Motivation and Get Stuff Done

Illnesses are inconvenient, but I find that these strategies help me wrap up any looming deadlines so I can focus on getting better without sacrificing income or feeling guilty. Sometimes being a freelance writer is tough, and during sickness is certainly one of those times!How do you overcome lack of motivation when you don’t feel well or just don’t feel like working?

More Writing Tips

It’s the first Wednesday of the month (already? I can’t believe it) and that means it’s time for Writing Tips Wednesdays at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer!

This month, I’m talking about the role of editing in books and whether it is an essential part of story writing or if editing is necessary at all.

I have read numerous books with typos, spelling issues, convoluted plots, unnecessary content, and a host of other issues that you would not see in a book published by a larger publishing house (usually).

However, some of these slightly-awkward books had amazing and unique plots that I very much wanted to read about.

So, the question we were left with in the show, and what I have still yet to decide an answer for, is: Is it worth overlooking the editing issues if the story is good?

When I read a story, I usually try to avoid criticizing it too much while I am reading it. Aside from noticing glaring errors, I generally try to give the writer the benefit of the doubt and enjoy the story that is there. This makes it more enjoyable to read the book, but it doesn’t help improve my own writing.

To improve my writing, I like to break down the books that I really enjoy reading to see what it is that that particular author does to make the book work that way. This process can be done with any book, but you have to make a conscious choice not to do it when you simply want to read a book for fun. Here are some of the things I look at:

Writing style: How are things written in the book? Does the author use a lot of first person? Do the characters have internal monologues? What kind of descriptive phrases does the author use, or does the author avoid descriptions? What is the ratio of dialogue to descriptions? Does the author give us information the characters do not know? Is the story written from the first or third person? Is the story written in past or present tense?

Characters: What type of characters are in the story? Does the author write from multiple perspectives or just one? Are the characters likable or relatable?

Plot Construction: How is the story constructed? Does the author start with a prologue, flashback, or flash forward? How does the story progress? Is there a clear opening, climax, and conclusion; or is it a simple narration? Is there a mystery to solve? Is the story more of an adventure or is it an ordinary story?

Breaking down these elements in your favorite stories helps you write better in your own. For example, I really prefer my books to have a point, so I tend to like adventure stories better. I am less interested in stories that are simple windows into time. This is one reason why I tend to dislike books on reading lists, such as the list of Time’s 100 Greatest Novels of the 20th Century. One of my favorite books of all time for writing style? Inkheart. However, I am not as big a fan of the plot, because I dislike stories that cross universes.

I'm Brenda. I'm a writer and a reader. Daily Mayo is all about having fun while reading, without rules! If you love books as much as I do, join the DM Book Lover's Club to keep up with the latest in the book world and get the DM Book Club Reading List.Come get to know me and let's talk books!